Status and its determinants of loneliness in empty-nest elderly

Objective To describe the loneliness among the elderly in empty-nest family and determine its influencing factor.Methods Four hundred and twelve elderly people aged 60 years or older in empty-nest family were selected with cluste ring method and surveyed with the UCLAL oneliness Scale,the Social Support Rate Scale and the Family APGAR(adaptability,partnership,growth,affection,and decision)index.Results The mean score of lone liness was 42.84(SD=8.76).In univariate analysis,quality of sleep,social support,family functioning,and self evaluated health had significant relationship with the loneliness.The results of stepwise multiple regression found that subjective support,difficult in activities of daily life,family functioning,quality of sleep were the significant predicting variables of lone liness.Conclusion Social spport,family functioning,difficult in activities of daily life and quality of sleep are four important factors effecting feeling of lone liness in the empty-nest elderly